Rapid Recap: Islanders 6, Ducks 3

The New York Islanders jumped back into the win column on Wednesday night in thrilling fashion, beating the Anaheim Ducks 6-3 at Honda Center.
Kyle Palmieri (1G, 3A), Hudson Fasching, Brock Nelson (2G) and Pierre Engvall (1G, 1A) and Zach Parise (1G, 1A) led the offense for the Islanders, while Max Jones and Kevin Shattenkirk (2G) put up goals for the Ducks.
Ilya Sorokin started in back-to-back games for the second time this season and made 20 saves for the win, while John Gibson made 27 saves in the loss.
The Islanders hold the second wild card spot and are closing in on Pittsburgh, who also have 78 points, but have three games at hand in the Eastern Conference standings. With the win over the Ducks, the Islanders created a five-point gap between Florida and Washington, both chasing with 73 points.

THE SCORING:
1st Period:
0:25 - ANA 1, NYI 0 - Max Jones finds open ice in the slot and rips one past Ilya Sorokin to open the scoring for the Ducks. Cam Fowler and Troy Terry collect the assists.
12:24 - ANA 1, NYI 1 - Pierre Engvall sends a cross-ice feed to Kyle Palmieri, who nets the equalizer with a wrister. Adam Pelech tallies the secondary assist.

17:47 - ANA 2, NYI 1 - Trevor Zegras pulls the puck between his legs on a two-on-one and dishes a pass over to Kevin Shattenkirk, who wrists one through Sorokin to regain the lead for the Ducks. Ryan Strome picks up the secondary assist.
2nd Period:
ANA 2, NYI 2 - Zach Parise chips the puck down the ice to reach Hudson Fasching, who rushes into the Ducks zone on a 3-on-1 down the wing. Fasching keeps, holds and wrists a shot past John Gibson, tying the score at two apiece. Sebastian Aho records the secondary assist.

19:37 - NYI 3, ANA 2 - Brock Nelson gives the Islanders their first lead of the night. Palmieri circles behind the net and sends the puck to Pelech at the point, who sets up Nelson for an explosive one-timer to beat Gibson.

3rd Period:
2:58 - NYI 4, ANA 2 - Palmieri sends a quick feed to Engvall, who moves in down the slot and wrists a shot under the arm of Gibson to take the two-goal lead for the Islanders.

9:02 - NYI 5, ANA 2 - Palmieri scoops the puck around the net, directing the puck to Nelson in the slot, who rips one through Gibson. Noah Dobson collects the secondary assist.

12:45 - NYI 6, ANA 2 - Parise buries a backhander off a rebound from Jean-Gabriel Pageau to extend the Islanders lead by four goals.

15:05 - NYI 6, ANA 3 PPG - Shattenkirk one times a feed from Frank Vatrano with the man advantage for his second goal of the night.
NOTEBOOK:
Pierre Engvall scored for the third consecutive game, extending his point streak to three games with four points (3G, 1A) over that span... Engvall also tied his career-best 15 goals, set in the 2021-22 season... Kyle Palmieri had a four-point night (1G, 3A) which marks a career-high... Hudson Fasching has three goals in his last five games, with a career-high six on the season. Brock Nelson buried his 29th and 30th goal of the season. With second consecutive 30-goal season, Nelson is the first Islander to do so since Anders Lee in 2016-18... Jean-Gabriel Pageau has two points (1G,1A) in back-to-back games since his return from injury... Ilya Sorokin started in back-to-back games for the second time this season and the fifth time in his career... Bo Horvat went 10-for-14 in faceoffs (71%)… Adam Pelech led the Islanders with 25:01 TOI, which is his second highest of the season... The Islanders allowed a goal 25 seconds into the game, which marks their quickest goal allowed of the season... Simon Holmstrom drew into the lineup for Josh Bailey... The Islanders swept the Ducks for the second straight season.
GOALTENDING MATCHUP:
Ilya Sorokin stopped 20-of-23 in the win.
John Gibson stopped 27-of-33 in the loss.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
The Islanders power play went 0-for-1, while their penalty kill went 1-for-2.
IMAGE OF THE GAME:

NEXT GAME:
The Islanders conclude their California road trip with a visit to the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 10:30 p.m. eastern.